Customer Reviews

To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First and foremost, this book is a great and enjoyable read. I had trouble putting it down - except on a few occasions when I found myself laughing out-loud.

Some of Chuck Thompson's witty one-liners were priceless. His stories are well-conceived and packed with intelligent observations. Now, it's not perfect - there are some jokes that go over flat and I didn't agree with all his conclusions, but those are few and far between. Overall, this book is a great, intelligent, and humorous read.

Even more, Mr. Thompson is a writer who has done his homework. I have some colleagues that have just returned from a four month stint in India. I shared a number of Mr. Thompson's experiences and observations from the India portion of his book with them - and they found themselves laughing and agreeing whole-heartedly.

An excellent book - I recommend to all! Mr. Thompson seems like the type of guy you'd love to sit down and have a beer with.

Considering how oversaturated the travelogue market has become, it's getting harder and harder to find the gems. But To Hellholes and Back is a diamond. Chuck Thompson's writing is dense (in a very good way) without becoming bogged down, info-packed without being showy, passionate without being strident, and critical without descending to the sort of glib shooting of fish in a barrel that characterizes so much opinion writing these days. And make no mistake, this is a man with opinions. But his stances on everything from Miley Cyrus to two-tier pricing give another welcome dimension to an already rich experience. There isn't a boring sentence in the entire book. It could actually be a fast read if one isn't inclined -- like I was -- to savor some of the wittier lines. (Incidentally, his friend Shanghai Bob -- who shows up in Mexico City -- can take his place alongside Bill Bryson's Katz and Hunter Thompson's Samoan lawyer as one of literature's most intriguing road-trip co-pilots.)

The book offers a lot of suspenseful episodes (the solo walk in the African bush comes to mind) but none more so than seeing how Thompson would handle something as seemingly banal as Walt Disney World after having already immersed himself in the exoticism of the Congo, India and Mexico City. He does not disappoint. As Thompson notes, Disney harbors its own forms of danger -- more cultural than physical, of course. But he avoids the outright dismissal of the "dreams can come true" ethos (again, fish in a barrel) and instead opens himself up to the idea that Walt Disney World -- not to mention the world of Disney in general -- may have positives that go beyond being able to find a parking space during peak season. He offers an honest appraisal of the duality that is Disney. There's even an emotional moment or two.

It may be impossible to bring the reputation of the travelogue industry back to what it once was without burning a whole lot of books, but Thompson convinces us that it can still be a sublime, engaging form of writing capable of transporting armchair travelers to other, fascinating worlds -- be they the happiest places on earth or among the saddest.

Chuck Thompson's brand of travel writing is not for the fainthearted or polite. His observations are smartass smart; his prose is take-no-prisoners captivating. He's unapologetically opinionated about just about everything and certainly about every "hellhole" he visits. He's probably one of the only guys traipsing around the planet who could make total sense of putting Congo, Walt Disney World, India, and Mexico City together in the same book. Between crazy predicaments, hilarious side stories, and penetrating peripatetic insights, you get to know and like the guy. Tagging along lets you go places, meet people, and see, learn, and think things you probably never would have otherwise. Brilliant and memorable. Even surprisingly redemptive.

For an opinionated writer, Chuck Thompson actually came across quite well and quite well balanced. In places I could hear Paul Theroux making some of the same, non-PC, comments. The guides are crooks, the police are worse, and the government are the worst of all. I've traveled extensively in Africa, and could recognize much of what he wrote in the Congo section. My India experiences soured me even more on that country than he seemed to be. Mexico City was the surprise, he expected crime and anarchy, and found friendly people, good food, and good drink. And then the throw-away, easy target, that is Disney World. Turns out to be more honest and perhaps more real than some of the other travel locations. The book is written in humor but forms a solid travelogue for four places which are not likely to be high on independent travelers' lists.

To Hellholes and Back by Chuck Thompson is a fantastic take on traveling to three countries and one amusement park - specifically those places Thompson has been purposely avoiding during his travels. Filled with humor, facts and honesty, this book was an eye-opening experience of the Congo, India, Mexico City, and the happiest place on earth, Disney World.

What Thompson comes to realize at the end of this travels and after much afterthought, is that people are pretty much the same no matter where they live, the United States is easily considered a third world country to many other countries, and he actually enjoyed Disney World.

If you never plan to go to these places, then this is the next best thing to traveling to them. Thompson is honest in his descriptions (brutal, disgusting, beautiful, as they can be), but also ensures that the reader knows while he might have negative opinions about certain things, he did, in fact, have moments of overall enjoyment and realization that these parts of the world are worth seeing.

I think the most interesting part of the book was Thompson's realization that Mexico City isn't all that bad; and he really did try to make it bad just to verify that his previous feelings about the place were justified. He had a tremendous amount of fun and found all the warnings he received to be unfounded.

Ultimately, anything can happen anywhere; good or bad.

"To Hellholes and Back" is Chuck Thompson's followup to "Smile When You're Lying", a book that upset many people for allegedly "exposing" the travel writing industry. Thompson has strong opinions, and it is likely that a lot of people will not agree with him on some of these subjects.

That being said, however, I have found both of his books to be highly entertaining with quite a bit of humor thrown in. This book is about his experiences traveling to Congo, India, Mexico City and Walt Disney World. Each trip brings about some amusing stories and paints a fresh perspective on locations that have been deemed 'unsafe' by American media.

My biggest complaint about the book is that Chuck occasionally goes off on tangents and rambles on for too long, although this is not as big of a problem as on "Smile When You're Lying." I was also confused in the India section as to who this Joyce character was. I am assuming that this is his girlfriend/wife, but she is introduced as "the one and only Joyce." Not a big deal, obviously, but it was strange to all of a sudden introduce someone new in such vague fashion.

All in all, I definitely recommend this if you are looking for an travel narrative with biting wit and a knack for great detail.

Chuck Thompson is smart, funny and wildly entertaining. I laughed out loud many times reading this book and actually highlighted passages so I could share with people. He has strong opinions (I happen to agree with them all) and he really makes you think while entertaining. As soon as i finished this, I ordered his other book, "smile when your lying" Highly highly recommend this book and cant wait for more!

You may never travel to any of these destinations, but you'll appreciate that Mr. Thompson did when you read the yarns he spins in this latest work by the travel veteran. "To Hellholes..." is a travelogue potpourri, spiced with his classic whip-crack wit (pithy remarks you'll use later, I swear!), seasoned with a fair bit of sage advice, with a dash of cynicism and satire thrown in to find you either smirking or irking. Thompson's a straight shooter, and pulls no punches when giving an account of his adventures, exploits and experiences, i.e. this is not your Conde Nast "G" rated prose. But if you're looking for a read that won't have your head spinning with Clancyish technical details, make you blubber because a beloved character tragically dies, or just want that four hour flight to be over ASAP, then this is the book to stuff in your carry-on, or put on your hotel night stand. In the spirit of George Macdonald Fraser, it's reading entertainment at its raucous, raw and rambunctious best!

To "Hellholes and Back" is not a bad book and actually works well as a travelogue to places off the main routes. Some of Thompson's insights are decent enough though his verbosity tends to wear thin at times.
Unfortunately, the tone of his writing is similar to what one may find in magazine articles written for the 20-something male reader and his constant derogatory references to (in particular) Republican political figures comes off as snarky and sophomoric. Granted, Thompson is entitled to his opinions but the book (published in 2009) is already dated since much of his political sniping is obsolete in 2011. It makes him seem foolish.
He would do well to keep in mind that he is writing a book for longer consumption rather than for magazine articles with a shorter shelf life.

Wow. What a horrendous read. Enjoyed his first effort quite a bit but this was awful. Skip the political commentary and leave it where it belongs. Go back to what you did well the previous read. Wish I could get my money back. Will skip the next one. Nobody cares or wants your political opinions on the US, at least I don't. Write about far away lands, people and experiences there.